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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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JONATHAN DICKINSON 



r 



THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY 



The Rise of Colleges in America ; 



AN HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 



DELIVERED IN THE 



First Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth, 



Sunday, January 25TH, 1880, 



HENRY C. CAMERON, D.D, 



Professor in the College of New Jersey. 



PRINCETON, N. J. : 

printed by C. S. ROBINSON & CO. 
1880. 



JONATHAN DICKINSON 



THE COLLEGE OF NEW JEESEY 



The Rise of Colleges in America ; 



AN HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 



DELIVERED IN THE 



First Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth. 

Sunday, January 25TH, 1880, 

BY 

/ 

HENRY C. CAMERON, D.D., 

Professor in the College of New Jersey. 



PRINCETON, N. J. : 

printed by C. S. ROBINSON & CO. 
1880. 




ff 



PREFATORY NOTICE. 

The Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, N. J., deter- 
mined to commemoi-ate, by appropriate services, the one hundredth anniver- 
sary of the burning of their church in the War of the Revokition. As the 
first President of the College of New Jersey had been a pastor of this church, 
the Faculty- of the College were requested to appoint some one to deliver a 
discourse upon "Jonathan Dickinson and the College of New Jersey." The 
Faculty, at their meeting, January i6, 1880, adopted the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That Professor Henry C. Cameron, D.D., be requested as the 
representative of the College to deliver the address referred to." 

In compliance with this request a discourse upon " Jonathan Dickinson 
and the College of New Jersey," or "The Rise of Colleges in America,'" 
was preached in the church at Elizabeth, on the morning of Sunday, January 
25th, IS80. In the evening, the Rev. E. Kempshall, D.D., the pastor of the 
church, delivered a discourse upon " Caldwell and the Revolution." 

Instead of publishing the " portion relating particularly to Jonathan Dick- 
inson and the College of New Jersey," as requested by the Trustees of the 
Church, it has been deemed best to publish the entire discourse. Although 
hastily prepared it is the result of considerable historical investigation. For the 
facts the author is indebted mainly to Bancroft's History of the United States, 
Motley's Rise of the Dutch Republic and The United Netherlands, Hodge's 
Constitutional Histor)' of the' Presbyterian Church, Webster's History of the 
Presbyterian Church, Alexander's Log College, Sprague's Annals of the Pres- 
byterian Church, Green's Discourses (Notes toj, Murray's Handbook, Hether- 
ington's History of the Church of Scotland, Bozman's History of Maryland, 
Campbell's Histoiy of Virginia, ^vlaclean's History of the College of New 
Jersey, Hatfield's Historv of Elizabeth, N. J., besides numerous pamphlets 
and biographies. 



1 



DISCOURSE 



That the generation to come might know them, even 
the children which should be born ; who should arise 
and declare them to their children. — Psalm Ixxviii. 6. 

All of you who have visited our National Capitol 
will recall the most beautiful picture that adorns 
the walls of the rotunda. The scene is laid in 
the little harbor of Delfshaven in Holland. Upon 
the deck of the small ship kneel a little band of 
exiles, most of whom were about to tempt the stormy 
Atlantic, and to seek in a new world, amid hostile 
savages, that liberty to worship God according to 
their conscience which was denied them in their 
native land. Here were their pastor, John Robin- 
son, '* a man not easily to be paralleled," with open 
Bible and face uplifted to heaven in prayer ; and 
Wm. Brewster, their ruling elder; and John Carver, 
destined to be their first governor ; and Wm. Brad- 
ford, his successor and the historian of the future 
colony ; and Edward Winslow ; and the gallant 
soldier. Miles Standish with his wife Rose, beautiful 
as an angel, her hand resting upon his shoulder, and 
her face touched with the light and joy of heaven. 



Twelve years before this scene was enacted a 
company of earnest Christians had fled from England 
and sought a resting place In Holland, where they 
had '* heard was freedom of rellg^Ion for all men." 
But *' they knew they were Pilgrims, and looked not 
much on those things [their trials, &c.], but lifted up 
their eyes to heaven, their dearest country, and 
quieted their spirits." Although they had gained 
the favor of their Dutch protectors, and their diligent 
labor supplied their modest wants, a longing for a 
wider field of action stirred within them, and the 
patriotism still lingering In their breasts made them 
restless to live once more under the government of 
their native land. I need not trace for you the his- 
tory of these men, of their efforts to gain permission 
to form a colony in this western land, until at last 
"moved by a hope and Inward zeal of advancing the 
gospel of the kingdom of Christ In the remotest 
parts of the New World, and animated with the pur- 
pose of enlarging the dominions of their beloved 
mother-country, to whom their hearts ever turned 
despite her unklndness, they were now ready to ac- 
complish their purpose." The story of their voyage, 
their sufferings, their settlement, their entire career, 
Is familiar to you all. 

The landing of these Pilgrims upon Plymouth 
Rock Is an epoch In our history no less than that 
earlier settlement at Jamestown. They brought 
with them not only the principles of liberty and re- 
ligion, but also the notion of popular education. 
Where had they obtained this notion ? Not In Eng- 



land, whence this '' poor persecuted flock of Christ " 
had fled. They had spent years in a country which 
not only loved liberty and religion, was republican 
and Protestant, but in a city which had displayed its 
love for learning in a most remarkable manner. Let 
us recall an event in this city of Le3^den. In 1573-74 
it was bef ieged by the Spaniards under Valdez. The 
heroism and endurance of its citizens have never 
been surpassed. When summoned to surrender, 
their commander John Vanderdoes replied that 
" when provisions failed they would devour their left 
hands, reserving their right to defend their liberty." 
Months elapsed and famine was now upon them ; 
for seven weeks they had no bread within their walls, 
the flesh of horses and untelean animals and the grass 
from the streets had been their food. And now 
came pestilence following in the train of famine, and 
6000 of the inhabitants were swept away. The sur- 
vivors scarce had strength to bury the dead. And 
now William of Orange, that wise statesman and 
gallant warrior, determined to inundate his country 
that he might drive out the enemy and deliver this 
patriotic city. The dykes were cut ; but the plan 
failed, and relief could not reach the besieged. 
Driven frantic by suffering and disappointment they 
rushed tumultuously to their burgomaster, Peter A. 
Vanderwerf, and demanded bread or surrender. 
" I have sworn to defend this city," he answered, 
" and by God's help I mean to keep my oath. Bread 
I have none ; but if my body can afford you relief 
and enable you to prolong the defence, take it and 



8 

tear It to pieces, and let those who are most hungry 
among you share it." This noble devotion silenced 
them, and they retired. Relief came from God. A 
violent wind caused the sea to rush through the 
breaches in the dykes with such force as to inundate 
the whole land, to overthrow the ramparts of their 
enemies, and to overwhelm looo of the Spaniards 
with its power. Thus the city was delivered ; and 
by a change in the wind the waters were again driven 
back to their place. And yet there are men who 
deny a superintending Providence. 

And when the Prince of Orange wished to re- 
ward the people of Leyden for their bravery and 
their patriotism and their attachment to the cause of 
truth and Protestantism, what do you suppose they 
asked at his hands? Not relief from, taxation, not 
deliverance from any civic burden, but the establish- 
ment of a University : and that Institution stands 
to-day, a monument of their virtues,, a crown and an 
honor, and a means of usefulness to their posterity. 
It has produced some of the greatest scholars 
the world has ever known, and has probably done 
as much for the cause of science as any similar in- 
stitution in the world. It was in this city and beneath 
the shadows of this University that the pilgrim 
fathers acquired their love of learning. From Hol- 
land, where the school ever stands hard by the church, 
and not from England, came the idea of the common 
school, which, cherished by New England, has ex- 
tended far and wide in our land. 



9 

" To the end that learning may not be buried In 
the eraves of our forefathers," it was ordered in all 
Puritan colonies, that '' every township, after the 
Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty 
householders, shall appoint one to teach all children 
to write and read, and when any town shall increase 
to the number of one hundred families, they shall 
set up a grammar school; the masters thereof being 
able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for 
the University." 

In 1636 the General Court of Massachusetts voted 
a sum equal to a year's rate of the whole colony, 
towards the erection of a College ; and in 1638 the 
Rev. John Harvard, who died shortly after his arrival 
in the Colony, left the College one-half of his estate 
and all his library. Thus was founded Harvard Col- 
lege, the oldest of our Colleges, of which the Rev. 
Henry Dunster became the first president in 1640. 

The next was the College of William and Mary, 
among the Cavaliers of Virginia, as the other had 
been among the Puritans of Massachusetts. It may 
here be remarked that the first attempt to found a 
College in this country was in Virginia, and that 
before the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth 
Rock. I may be pardoned for alluding to this fact 
in the history of my native state. 

The. first Legislative Assembly that ever met in 
America was that of Virginia in 161 9. A proposi- 
tion was made in that body for the erection and sup- 
port of a College, but unfortunately the great 
massacre by the Indians in 1622 led to the abandon- 



lO 

ment of the enterprise. Another act In reference 
to the college was passed by the Assembly of Vir- 
ginia in 1660, but the opposition of the royal gov- 
ernor caused the attempt to fail, although it was 
intended to promote piety and supply an able "and 
faithful ministry. 

In 1 67 1, Sir Wm. Berkeley, the Governor, writes : 
"I thank God there are no free schools nor printing; 
and I hope we shall not have these hundred years." 
But in 1692 a charter was granted by William and 
Mary for the establishment of a College at Williams- 
burg In Virginia, which bears their names, and to 
which they gave land and revenues. The Rev. 
James Blair was its first president. The first build- 
ing was destroyed by fire, and the second, erected 
In 1705 from designs by Sir Christopher Wren, has 
like Nassau Hall, been twice burned and twice re- 
stored with its original walls still standing. 

The feeling that led to the establishment of these 
two colleges pervaded all parts of the colonies. It 
again manifested itself In New England, and Yale 
College was the result. In 1647, only nine years 
after the founding of Harvard, the people of New 
Haven had undertaken to estabhsh a college ; but 
the enterprise was abandoned out of deference to 
the Interests of Cambridge. But In 1700, a com- 
pany of ministers met in New Haven to form a 
College association. Shortly after, these ten minis- 
ters (another was subsequently added,) met at 
Branford, each member of the association bringing 
a number of books and laying them upon a table 



1 1 



with the declaration : " I give these books for the 
founding a college in this colony.!' A charter was 
granted by the General Court in i 701 . This college 
was at first intended to be especially theological, but 
the plan was modified to the design of instructing 
youth in the arts and sciences, who may be fitted for 
public employment both in Church and Civic State." 
A religious test (the Saybrook Platform,) was re- 
quired from all its officers. Its pupils were taught 
and its commencements were held at various places 
until it was finally located at New Haven. The 
Rev. Abram Pierson was its first President, and it 
received its name from Elihu Yale, its most liberal 
benefactor. 

These three institutions may be said to have had 
a purely English origin and represented two distinct 
forms of religion, the Congregational and the Epis- 
copal. There was this difference however, and it is 
rather remarkable in view of the strict Puritan 
character of the Massachusetts Colony and of the 
circumstances under which Connecticut was settled, 
that Harvard was more independent and liberal than 
Yale, which was denominational from the very out- 
set. 

But there was another important element both 
among the people and the religion of the colonies 
that was as yet unrepresented. This was the Scotch 
and the Scotch Irish, the great Presbyterian element 
of the infant land. And here, I must allude to that 
providence of God which preserved this country not 
merely for Protestantism, but for that form of it which 



12 

is its highest and grandest form, the Calvinistic. 
Roman Catholic settlements were formed in the North 
and in the South. Mexico and South America were 
given up to them, but they barely touched the ex- 
tremities of what now constitutes the United States, in 
Canada, Florida and Louisiana with their missions in 
the Mississippi valley. The Puritans, strict Calvinists, 
settled New England ; the Dutch, devoted to Cal- 
vinism in its highest form, settled New York ; Puri- 
tans and Presbyterians settled East Jersey ; the 
Scotch and the Scotch Irish poured into the Middle 
and Southern colonies from New Jersey to the Car- 
olinas, and were of course Calvinistic. So the 
Swedes of Delaware, the Germans in Pennsylvania 
and elsewhere (for Reformed and Lutheran agreed 
as to the doctrines of grace,) and the Huguenots of 
South Carolina were of the same faith. And even 
the Church of England that prevailed in Virginia 
and elsewhere was Calvinistic in its articles, while 
Methodism had not yet sprung.into existence. Thus 
from Massachusetts to Georgia, Calvinistic Protes- 
tantism everywhere prevailed, save among the set- 
tlements by the Friends in West Jersey and Pennsyl- 
vania and in the Roman Catholic colony in Maryland. 
Without detracting in the least from the liberal char- 
acter of Lord Baltimore we must remember that the 
Charter of Maryland was granted by a Protestant 
Monarch, who would not allow his co-religionists to 
be oppressed, and that he had provided that the 
ordinances of the Province " be not repugnant nor 
contrary * * to the laws, statutes or rights of our 



13 

kingdom of England," and that no Interpretation of 
the Charter " be made, whereby God's holy and true 
Christian religion, * * may in any wise suffer by 
change, prejudice, or diminution." From one end of 
the colonies to the other, the doctrinal type of Pro- 
testantism in the earlier times was almost uniform, 
the differences referring mainly to church order. 
Before the end of the 17th century 200,000 Scotch 
and Scotch Irish had immigrated into this land ; and 
but for the intense love of their native land, the per- 
secution of the Covenanters, "in the killing time," 
under Claverhouse, would have almost depopulated 
Scotland. Had all the descendants of Presbyterians 
in this land remained true to the faith of their ances- 
tors and not imparted so much of their strength and 
vitality to other denominations, Presbyterians would 
to-day constitute one-half of the people of this coun- 
try. As it is, by reason of their steadfast adherence 
to truth, their intelligence, their strength of charac- 
ter and their enlightened zeal, they are the greatest 
religious power in this land. 

In most parts of the colonies the Presbyterians 
had much to contend with. Congregationalism was 
established by law in New England, the Friends 
were in Pennsylvania and West Jersey ; in the other 
colonies generally the Church of England was fa- 
vored in all respects by the royal Governors. 
Hence the difficulty experienced by Presbyterian 
ministers in the earliest days. They were impris- 
oned in New York and elsewhere for preaching the 
Gospel, and only occasionally did a royal governor 



14 

(like Lieut. Governor Gooch of Virginia,) have the 
courage to say that they were " not dissenters, but 
belonged to the Established Kirk of Scotland." 

East New Jersey was settled by persons of New 
England origin, the earllst settlers of Elizabeth- 
town having come from the eastern end of Long 
Island and from Connecticut. They brought with 
them the Idea of religious liberty. In the very first 
negotiation for a settlement " about the Rarltan 
river," the deputation from New Haven to Gov. 
Stuyvesant Insisted among other things upon liberty 
" to gather a church In the congregational way, 
such as they had enjoyed In New England about 
twenty years past." This and nearly all their other 
demands were conceded ; but no settlement was 
made under the Dutch dominion. In the concessions 
to settlers made after the country came Into the pos- 
session of the English, freedom of conscience was 
granted along with other terms calculated to encour- 
age immigration. The founders of this town in 1664 
were then of Puritan stock and brought with them 
their Puritan rellorlon. The Rev. Abraham Plerson 
settled In Newark in 1 667, and hither they were obliged 
to go for religious services for a few years. They 
soon erected a meeting house upon the site of this 
very building and organized a Christian church. The 
Rev. James Peck became the first pastor about 1668. 
All the early pastors, as was natural, were from New 
England, and were Independent or Congregational 
ministers. No Presbytery had been established ; 
indeed there were no Presbyterian ministers as yet 



15 

In the country. But the Scotch tide of Immigration 
soon reached this town. Bancroft says, '*A great 
many inhabitants of Scodand emigrated to New 
Jersey, and enriched American society with a valu- 
able accession of virtue refined by adversity, and of 
piety invigorated by persecution." " Is it strange," 
says he, ''that many Scottish Presbyterians of virtue, 
education and courage, blending a love of liberty 
with religious enthusiasm, came to East New Jersey 
in such numbers as to give to the rising common- 
w^ealth a character which a century and a half has 
not effaced?" The name "Scotch Plains," is derived 
from those who came to this town. Many of the 
proprietors of the colony were Presbyterians and 
sent over a considerable number of colonists of their 
own faith ; and at last a Presbyterian Deputy was 
appointed to rule over them. Within a generation 
this Presbyterian element predominated over the 
Puritan, for both the church and the pastor united 
with the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 171 7. And 
it is remarkable that subsequently it was claimed 
" that the first purchasers and associates [I. e. of this 
town,] did give the aforesaid Tract of Land, for the 
use of a Presbyterian Church, the record of w^hlch 
on or about the year 1719 was either lost or de- 
stroyed." In response to this claim your trustees 
(I believe,) now hold this lot of land from the free- 
holders. 

Except those in this part of New Jersey our 
early ministers from Father Makemie and his col- 
leagues down through a generation were chiefly 



i6 

from Scotland and Ireland. Three-fourths of those 
who formed our Presbyteries (1705 et seqq.,) were 
from beyond the sea ; about one-fourth from New 
England. But the assimilation between Indepen- 
dents and Presbyterians outside of New England 
was almost complete, and is not surprising. The 
former were thoroughly Calvinistic in doctrine, be- 
lieved in the parity of the ministry, and had pre- 
served the office of ruling- elder. Their Association 
exercised nearly all the powers of the Presbytery 
and there existed the right of appeal. These are 
the essential elements of Presbyterian Church Gov- 
ernment ; and it was only in later times that the 
divergence became greater and more manifest. 

What may be called the second generation of Pres- 
byterian ministers, the Tennents, the Blairs, Pem- 
berton, Dickinson, BtblJ^ff and others, were remarka- 
ble men. Their characters made a great impression 
not only upon the church, but upon the people, and 
they seemed raised up for a peculiar purpose. 
Rarely has the church, since the day of the Refor- 
mation, been in a lower condition in Great Britain 
and America than it was in the early part of the 
eighteenth century. Bishop Buder, the great author 
of the Analogy, says that in his day in England 
Christianity seemed to be regarded as a fable among 
all persons of discernment ; religion had so far de- 
cayed in the nation since the return of the Stuarts 
and the exclusion of the non-conformists that it 
seemed to have lost its influence upon the minds of 
men. John Newton says, that before the rise of the 



17 

Methodists, " the doctrines of grace were seldom 
heard from the pulpit, and the life and power of re- 
ligion were little known." Rellelon In Scotland was 
at a very low ebb and had been declining for nearly 
half a century. "Many of the moderate ministers 
regarded Christianity as merely an improved sys- 
tem of morality and their sermons were little more 
than moral essays." Yet there had been a few re- 
vivals in the West of Scodand, and that remarkable 
outpouring of God's Spirit at the kirk of Shotts oc- 
curred in 1730. 

In New England there was defection from sound 
doctrine, and great decay as to the life and power 
of godliness. Edwards alludes to the tendency to 
Arminianism, and President Clap of Yale College 
Is stated to have been the only Calvinlst among the 
Trustees or the Faculty. 

In the Presbyterian Church there was no preva- 
lent error in doctrine, all the ministers adhered to 
the Westminster Confession, and were men of blame- 
less lives. But there was general coldness and 
sluggishness with regard to religion, and this not 
merely among the people, but also among the min- 
isters, some of whom may have been unacquainted 
with experimental religion. 

But God in mercy revived his work simultane- 
ously in the mother country and in the colonies. In 
Great Britain the revival began with John Wesley 
and his companions in the University of Oxford. 
Methodism then took Its rise, and Its power has ex- 
tended throughout the world. The great thought 



i8 

that filled the mind of John Wesley through his 
long life seemed to be the salvation of souls. With 
him was joined, at first, George Whitfield ; but 
Wesley being an Arminian and Whitfield a Calvin- 
ist, they separated in 1740. Wherever Whitfield 
went with his burning eloquence multitudes were 
converted to God, and he was the instrument in the 
salvation of a countless number of souls. In our 
Church the great revival, as it has been termed, 
began at Freehold in this colony, under the minis- 
tration of Mr. John Tennent, 1730-32, and was con- 
tinued until 1744 under his brother William, who 
gave a full account of this work in a letter to Mr. 
Prince of Boston. The revival then extended to 
Lawrence, Hopevv^ell and Amwell. In August, 1739, 
the work manifested itself among the young people 
of Newark and continued with increasing power for 
months ; then decaying, it again exhibited its force 
in 1 741. Mr. Dickinson, the pastor of this church, 
preached in Newark and was greatly interested in the 
revival. Although he had faithfully preached the 
Gospel among his people, the results were not such 
as he hoped and prayed for. Whitfield preached 
in Elizabethtown, Nov. 19, 1739, to 700 people, but 
Mr. Dickinson could observe no saving effects from 
the sermon. In 1740 he himself preached a sermon 
to the young, and in the course of its delivery a 
sudden and deep impression visibly appeared upon 
the congregation in general. There were such 
tokens of a solemn and deep concern as he had 
never before seen in any congregation. " More 



19 

young people," he said, '' came to him for direction 
in their spiritual condition in three months than 
within thirty years before." To the effects of that 
remarkable revival may be traced the character and 
reputation of Elizabeth for more than a century. 
May you prove yourselves not unworthy of your 
noble ancestry, and in cherishing the memory of 
your forefathers imitate their virtue and their high 
character ! 

There is not time to trace this revival through- 
out our church in this State and Pennsylvania. 
Throughout New England and especially in Virginia 
beyond our church was the hand of God manifest. 
In some parts of the country there were, doubtless, 
objectionable features; but the great aggregate re- 
sults and the mighty influence for good exerted upon 
this whole country prove conclusively that it was "a 
wonderful display both of the power and the grace 
of God." 

Upon this subject we have the testimony of Ed- 
wards, Cooper,- Coleman and Bellamy in New Eng- 
land ; of the Tennents, Blair, Dickinson and Davies 
in our church ; and we know the doctrines taught 
were the doctrines of the Reformation, the doctrines 
of grace, which have been honored of God in the 
salvation of souls In all ages of the Church. It is 
not surprising that in the ardent desire for the con- 
version of sinners errors were committed. Itiner- 
ants and ministers from the churches in one Pres- 
bytery thrust themselves into the bounds of churches 
in another Presbytery against the wishes of the 



20 

pastors ; and earnest men were permitted to preach 
who w^ere not properly qualified. In consequence 
of these evils the Synod of Philadelphia enacted a 
rule against itinerants, and another requiring all 
who had not received a diploma to be examined by 
a committee of the Synod, and if found qualified 
they were to receive a certificate that should be 
equivalent to a diploma. The Presbytery of New 
Brunswick protested against these rules, and repeat- 
edly disregarded that in reference to the examination 
of candidates. The elder Tennent had established 
a school at Neshaminy in Pennsylvania, subsequently 
styled " the Log College," and a number of minis- 
ters had been trained there. Gilbert Tennent 
thouo^ht that the rule in reference to candidates was 
aimed at his father's school, while the majority of 
the Synod declared that they desired only to secure 
an adequately educated ministry. These contro- 
versies produced dissensions that ultimately led to 
the great schism in the Qhurch. The New Bruns- 
wick Presbytery and especially Tennent and Blair 
were wrong in their censorious spirit and their con- 
demnation of their brethren. Mr. Tennent's famous 
Nottingham Sermon upon " the danger of an un- 
converted ministry " was one of the chief causes of 
the Schism. The Synod perhaps acted unwisely in 
the way in which the majority met the charges of 
Tennent and his party and condemned the Presby- 
tery of New Brunswick in 1741. 

Mr. Dickinson, the pastor of this church, was 
Moderator of the Synod in i 742, and he with the 



21 



Other members of the New York Presbytery endeav- 
ored for some years to produce a reconcihatlon ; but 
their (efforts were unsuccessful, and eventually two 
Synods were formed, that of Philadelphia and that 
of New York. The revival was thus the occasion 
of a division which lasted seventeen years. Oppo- 
sition to the revival was the standing charge against 
the one party ; but for the most part it was only 
opposition to extravagance and disorder. The other 
party was charged with slighting the importance of 
an educated ministry ; but it was not learning that 
was disregarded, there was not confidence in the 
existing colleges ; and they were opposed to the 
plan of the Synod establishing a Seminary. There 
was substantial agreement as to doctrines. " The 
great schism was not the result of conflicting views, 
either as to doctrine or church government. It was 
the result of alienation of feeling produced by the 
controversies relating to the revival." 

The Old Synod had directed its attention to the 
matter of education. " The Log College " at 
Neshaminy had educated some of its most distin- 
guished ministers. In 1739 an overture proposing 
the establishment of a school under the care of the 
Synod was unanimously approved, and it was deter- 
mined to send two members of the standing Com- 
mission to Europe to prosecute the affair. The was 
between England and Spain prevented the execution 
of the purpose. In 1 744 a school for gratuitous 
instruction in the languages, philosophy and divinity, 
was established for supplying vacancies in the 



22 

church. Trustees were appointed, and Mr. AHson, 
a most accompHshed scholar and a leader in the 
church, was elected Master, and collections in the 
churches were ordered. This school gave rise to 
Newark Academy in Delaware, since chartered as a 
college. Mr. Alison removed to Philadelphia and 
took charge of an academy which subsequently be- 
came a college, now the University of Pennsylvania, 
and he was appointed the Vice-Provost. Hence the 
Synod of Philadelphia or Old Side established no 
college of its own. 

The Synod of New York or the New Side was 
as zealous for the promotion of learning as for the 
advancement of religion. We have seen how the 
love of learning manifested itself in New England 
and also In Virginia. The Scotch inherited their 
love of learning from the days of the Reformation, 
for their Book of Discipline, adopted by their first 
General Assembly at its meeting In 1 561, stated that 
'' It was Imperatively necessary that there should be 
a school in every parish, for the instruction of youth 
In the principles of religion, grammar and the Latin 
tongue ; and It was farther proposed that a college 
should be erected In every ' notable town,' In which 
logic and rhetoric should be taught, along with the 
learned languages." And the patrimony of the 
church was appropriated to three objects, the sup- 
port of the ministers, the schools and \^^ poor. 

It has been observed that in the establishment of 
all our early colleges it was a desire to raise up an 
educated ministry that animated their founders. 



23 

This was so In the case of Harvard, of WilHam and 
Mary, of Yale, and of the College of New Jersey. 
In the early history of New Jersey allusion is made 
to feelings of jealousy and even of unkindness be- 
tween the Scotch and the Enoflish. This was not a 
question of nationality but of religion. By "English'' 
are meant those who were attached to the Church of 
England as by law established, for between those 
who came from New England and those who came 
from Scotland there was entire accord, and Independ- 
ents and Presbyterians had united in one religious 
body as they agreed in doctrine. While there was, 
of course, complete religious freedom, yet dissenters 
were not so much favored in public matters. There 
had been Presbyterian Governors, but they had 
attended the worship of the church of England. 
This was the case with Campbell and the Hamiltons, 
both father and son. It was not until 1746 that a 
charter for a college could be obtained in this colony 
by dissenters. The time had now come for success. 
The Presbytery of New Brunswick was particularly 
interested in " the Log College." Moreover by the 
great activity of its prominent members in connection 
with the revival, they were not in favor with the royal 
Governor, Lewis Morris, and " the Court party." 
Hence the work of devising measures for the estab- 
lishment of a college devolved upon the ministers and 
laymen of the Presbytery of New York, most of 
whom lived in East Jersey, men of the highest repu- 
tation for wisdom, learning and piety. They had for- 
tunately escaped the unfavorable opinion of the 



24 

Governor and his friends. These men were Dick* 
inson, Pierson, Pemberton, Burr and others. Their 
first petition, for a charter, however, was rejected ; 
it may be because Gov. Morris thought he had no 
right to grant a charter, or it may have been because 
they were Dissenters. He died in May i 746, and 
John Hamilton, son of Andrew Hamilton, Governor 
of East and West Jersey under the proprietors 1 692- 
1702, became acting Governor for the second time. 
The petition for the establishment of a college was 
renewed, and a charter was granted bv the Gover- 
nor w4th the consent of his Council without asking 
the consent of the Provincial Assembly or the per- 
mission of his Majesty's Home Government. 

The only record in the Archives of the Colony of 
this most important transaction is in the following 
words : " Mem. of a Charter for a Colledge. A char- 
ter to incorporate sundry persons to found a col- 
ledge passed the great seal of this province of New 
Jersey, tested by John Hamilton, Esq., President of 
His Majesty's Council and Commander-in-Chief of 
the Province of New^ Jersey, the 22d of Oct. 1746." 

This charter was never recorded, and was sub- 
sequendy supplanted by the more liberal charter 
granted by Governor Belcher, Sept. 13, 1748. For 
this he was styled "the founder, patron and bene- 
factor" of the College. The history of this first 
charter and the reladons between it and the second 
charter have been most ably discussed by ex-Presi- 
dent Maclean in his History of the College of New 
Jersey. Into the matter of the second charter and 



25 

the ereat services of Governor Belcher I do not enter 
at this time. I cannot, however, mention the name of 
Dr. Maclean without alluding to the warm affection 
which all we old graduates and friends of Nassau 
Hall entertain for him, and particularly expressing 
our gratitude for his admirable History of the Col- 
lege. 

The desien of this Colleg^e w^as that it miorht be 

o o o 

a *' seminary of piety and good literature," to furnish 
the Church with a pious and learned ministry and to 
provide liberally for the intellectual culture of all 
classes of youth who desired a liberal education. 
It was not a State Institution, nor was it ecclesias- 
tical. It was under Presbyterian control ; but was 
characterized by that wise liberality and catholic 
spirit that have ever been the glory of the Church of 
which we form a part. 

And now having obtained a charter where was 
this College to be located, and who should be placed 
at the head of it ? Your city, then a small town, but 
one of the most important places in the colony, had 
the honor of sheltering the infant college, and the 
eminent pastor of your church was selected as its 
first President. In the New York Weekly Post Boy, 
No. 2 11, February 2, [Old Style, 13 New Style], 
1 74^, appeared the following : 

" Whereas a Charter, with full and ample Privi- 
leges, has been granted by his Majesty under the 
Seal of the Province of New Jersey, bearing date the 
2 2d October, 1746, for erecting a College within the 
said Province, to Jonathan Dickinson, John Pierson, 



26 



Ebenezer Pemberton and Aaron Burr, Ministers of 
the Gospel and some other Gentlemen, as Trustees 
of said College ; by which Charter equal Liberties 
and Privileges are secured to every Denomination 
of Christians, any different religious Sentiments not- 
withstanding. The said Trustees have therefore 
thought proper to inform the Public that they design 
to open the said College the next Spring ; and to 
notify to any Person or Persons who are qualified by 
preparatory Learning for Admission, that some time 
in May next at latest, they may bt there admitted to 
an Academic Education." 

In the same paper. No. 222, April 20, 1747, ap- 
peared : 

" This is to inform the Public, That the Trustees 
of the College of New Jersey have appointed the 
Rev. Mr. Jonathan Dickinson President of said Col- 
ledge, which will be opened the fourth Week in May 
next, at Elizabethtown ; At which time and Place, all 
Persons suitably qualified, may be admitted to an 
Academic Education." 

At the appointed time and in this place, began 
the first term of the College of New Jersey. Who, 
now, was this Rev, Jonathan Dickinson who had* been 
selected for the responsible position of President of 
the infant College ? 

Jonathan Dickinson was of English descent. 
His grandfather, Nathaniel Dickinson, was one of 
the first setders of Wethersfield, Conn. His son 
Hezekiah was born at Wethersfield, but resided at 
Stratford, where he married Abigail, granddaughter 



27 

of the Rev. Adam Blackman, the first minister of 
Stratford, Conn., and a graduate of Oxford. The 
parents of Jonathan Dickinson resided successively 
at Hatfield, Hadley and Springfield, Mass. He was 
born at Hatfield, April 22, 1688, but passed most of 
his youth at Springfield, and possibly spent some- 
time with his maternal grandfather Blackman, at 
Stratford ; and probably through the Influence of the 
next minister of that town, the Rev. Israel Chauncy, 
one of the founders of Yale College, he entered that 
Institution In 1702, the very year of its foundation, 
under the Rev. Abraham Plerson, who Instructed the 
students at his house at Kllllngworth ; although the 
Commencements were held at Saybrook. His father 
died shortly after young Dickinson's graduation, 
which took place In 1706. He studied theology and 
was licensed to preach the Gospel. He came to 
Elizabeth in 1708, his attention having probably been 
turned in this direction by President Pierson, who 
had been pastor of the church in Newark from 1672 
to 1692, having been the colleague and successor of 
his father. Mr. Dickinson was ordained, Sept. 29, 
1709, by the ministers of Fairfield County, Conn., 
who had formed a Consociation on the Saybrook 
Platform just twenty days before. There w-ere other 
ministers who took part in the ordination ; besides, 
" messengers," I. e. elders from the different churches 
were present. The Rev. Joseph Morgan, who had 
just been Installed pastor at Freehold, N. J., preached 
the sermon from Mark 16 : 16 : " Go ye into all the 
world and preach the Gospel to every creature." 



28 

The sermon Is still extant, a copy being preserved 
in the Library of the Connecticut Historical Society 
at Hartford. The first Presbytery of our church was 
formed in 1705, and Mr. Morgan became a member 
In 1710. Mr. Dickinson was not twenty-one years 
old when he began to preach in this town, and he 
was but little more than twenty-one when he was 
ordained. His field was very extensive. To show 
how large were the charges in those days, I may 
mention that Mr. Dickinson's field of labor embraced 
what is now Rahway, Westfield, Connecticut Farms, 
Springfield and part of Chatham besides Elizabeth- 
town Itself Arduous and onerous as were his duties, 
he proved equal to them, and was diligent and faith- 
ful in the performance of them. Population was 
sparse, and in neither province of New Jersey was 
there any church or even minister west of him. As 
to his compensation, we learn that In each of the 
townships of Newark, Elizabethtown and Wood- 
bridge In 1716, there was '' a large Independent Con- 
gregation who support their preachers with the allow- 
ance of ^80 per annum, besides House, Glebe and 
perquisites of Marriages." 

He united with the Presbytery of Philadelphia, 
probably at their meeting In Woodbrldge, April 29, 
1 71 7, when he took part in the ordination of Mr. 
John Pierson. This Presbytery was gradually absorb- 
ing all the churches and pastors of New England 
origin outside of New England, and Sept. 1 7, 1 7 1 7, It 
met at Philadelphia as the Synod of Philadelphia. 
And the next year, Sept. 19, 1718, he delivered to 



29 

the Synod the first contribution ever made by this 
church for Presbyterlal purposes. In 1720 he was 
made a member of the Standing Commission just 
appointed. In i 721 he was elected Moderator of the 
Synod, when for the first time this church was repre- 
sented in Synod by an elder. The records of the 
Synod abundantly prove his activity in all ecclesias- 
tical matters, and his name appears on almost every 
commission of importance. He and 'others at this 
time protested against an act of the Synod which 
they thought claimed too great power for the body. 
But in 1 721 they withdrew their protest and pre- 
sented a paper drawn up by Mr. Dickinson, which 
conceded all that our Church has ever claimed as to 
discipline, worship and the right of appeal, thus show- 
ing that the protest had arisen from a misconception. 
The Synod was universally pleased and unanimously 
joined in a thanksgiving prayer, and joyful singing 
of the 133d Psalm. Circumstances in this town and 
especially in Connecticut, in 1722, induced Mr. Dick- 
inson to publish a " Defence of Presbyterian Ordi- 
nation," in reply to a pamphlet in favor of Prelacy. 
The controversy that sprang up continued for some 
time, and the pamphlets on either side were collected 
into small volumes. 

When it was proposed in the Synod to require 
of every minister and candidate a hearty assent to 
the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, 
Mr. Dickinson opposed it. He did this, not because 
he did not accept the doctrines taught therein, but 
because he was opposed to all creeds of human com- 



30 

position. The discussion that ensued greatly agi- 
tated the church, but finally led to the famous 
" Adopting Act." The Synod was unanimous, and 
Mr. Dickinson was one of those who unanimously 
agreed in giving thanks to God in solemn prayer and 
praises for ''that unanimity, peace, and unity, which 
appeared in all the consultations and determinations 
relating to the affair of the Confessions." He was 
at this time confessedly " the ablest man and most 
influential member 6f the Synod," and yet he stood 
almost alone in his pecullr views. But he modified 
his own views in accordance with those of his breth- 
ren. And he was present at what may be called the 
renewal or explanation of this act in 1736. He was 
again Moderator in 1 742, when he and others pro- 
tested against the exclusion of the Presbytery of New 
Brunswick without trial, and he also bore testimony 
to the evangelical character of the great revival then 
going on in many congregations. He was very ear- 
nest in his efforts to effect a reconciliation between 
the Presbytery and the Synod, but found it impossi- 
ble. After struggling for five years to restore peace 
and harmony, he at last united with those who had 
been aggrieved In forming the Synod of New York, 
which was constituted In this church, Sept. 19, 1745. 
Mr. Dickinson was chosen Moderator, and the 
Synod adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith^ 
and the Larger and Shorter Catechism as the Synod 
of Philadelphia had done in 1 7 29. In the new Synod, 
as In the old, he was the most influential member, 
the acknowledged leader. 



31 

We have thus briefly glanced at his position 
in the Church. Let us consider him as an author. 
He Hved at a time when skepticism was prevalent 
among educated men, and when the love of many 
for the truth even in the Church had waxed cold. 
Reason was exalted, the Inspiration of the Bible 
was denied, its glorious revelations were neglected. 
He preached a series of discourses to his people in 
defence of the truth against prevalent errorr . These 
were published in a volume entitled, " The Reason- 
ableness of Christianity." They treated of the Being 
and Attributes of God, the Apostasy of Man, the 
Credibility of the Christian Religion and the Divinity 
of Christ. This volume is admirable in matter and 
in style. His first publication was his sermon before 
the Synod when retiring from the position of Mod- 
erator in 1722, "On Church Legislative Power." 
His " Defence of Presbyterian Ordination" in 1724 
has already been alluded to. He was again involved 
in the Episcopal Controversy through no fault of his, 
and preached and published in 1736 his "famed 
sermon " on " The Vanity of human Institutions in 
the Worship of God." The Controversy was closed 
by him in 1738, by his "Reasonableness of non-Con- 
formity." Numerous sermons and pamphlets need not 
be noticed. His tract upon the great revival under 
Whitfield, published at first anonymously, produced 
a great effect. Its very title shows its exhaustive 
character : " A Display of God's special Grace, in A 
familiar Dialogue Between a Minister and a Gentle- 
man of his Congregation About the Work of God in 



32 

the Conviction and Conversion of Sinners, so remark- 
ably of late begun and going on in these American 
Parts: wherein The Objections against some uncom- 
mon Appearances amongst us are distinctly consid- 
er'd, mistakes rectify'dand the Work Itself particularly 
prov'd to be from the Holy Spirit With An Addition, 
In a second Conference, relating to sundry Antino- 
mian Principles, beginning to obtain In some Places," 
1 742. It has been compared favorably In ability and 
character with the writings of Edwards upon the 
same subjects. The name of the author soon be- 
came known and it received the strongest commen- 
dation of the leading Congregational clergymen of 
Boston and the most prominent ministers of the 
Presbyterian Church. 

In 1743 and 1744, he published Sermons upon 
Regeneration, and in 1745 his " Familiar Letters to 
a Gentleman upon A Variety of Seasonable and 
ImportantSubjectsIn Religion." In 1 741 he publish- 
ed his ablest and most noted work, " The True 
Scripture Doctrine Concerning some important 
Points of Christian Faith ; Particularly, Eternal 
Election, Original Sin, Grace In Conversion, Justifi- 
cation by Faith, And the Saint's Perseverance." So 
admirable and practical Is this work, that It is upon 
the Catalogue of our Board of Publication to this 
day. At the very close of his life he was engaged 
in defending the doctrines of Grace, and his " Sec- 
ond Vindication of God's Sovereign Free Grace," 
was published from his MS., after his death, by his 
brother. Such was he as an author and a theolo- 



33 

glan ; confessedly the ablest in the Presbyterian 
Church at the time of his death. And even in Great 
Britain it was acknowledged that "the British Isles 
had produced no such writers on Divinity in the 
Eighteenth Century, as Dickinson and Edwards." 

In Church Courts he was ever a leader. Famil- 
iar with the rules of procedure, he conducted most 
wisely his side of the great controversies in which 
he was engaged In the church. Firm where he felt 
that he was right, yielding with grace when con- 
vinced that he was wrong, seeking some method of 
reconciling conflicting views, his sagacity Inspiring 
confidence and his calm judgment securing respect, 
and even his firm adherence to his views giving no 
offence to his opponents, he secured the enthusias- 
tic admiration of his friends, and all who knew^ him 
seemed to love the man. 

As a preacher, he was a man of great power ; 
his sermons were doctrinal, with, however, special 
application to the conditions of his hearers and the 
character of the times. Both the matter of his ser- 
mons, their literary excellence and the manner of his 
delivery, secured and retained the attention of his 
audience. He was often called upon for special ser- 
mons, and he delighted in assisting his brother min- 
isters. Not only in the Church courts was he a 
counsellor; but ministers and churches generally, 
were wont to seek his advice in their troubles. 

As a pastor he was faithful to his flock, and 
gained most intimate access to his people as a phy- 
sician of their bodies as well as of their souls. For 



34 

to his many other accompHshments he added that of 
a knowledge of medicine, and actually practised the 
profession, gaining considerable reputation, and even 
publishing upon the subject. He was also active in 
promoting missionary labor among the Indians. 
With Pemberton and Burr, he represented their 
condition to " The Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge," formed in England in 1709. These 
three were authorized to employ missionaries, which 
they did ; Azarlah Horton being the first, and David 
Brainard the second. Brainard found In Mr. Dick- 
inson a warm friend and faithful counsellor, and they 
were much attached during life. Some have even 
attributed the founding of the* College of New Jer- 
sey to the unjust expulsion of Brainard from Yale 
College, and the refusal to restore him at the solici- 
tation of Edwards and Dickinson, when he had 
properly acknowledged his fault. 

This then was the man who was selected to pre- 
side over the Infant College. This imperfect and 
hasty sketch will enable you to judge whether he was 
competent for the new duties assigned him. He did 
not assume even these without preparation. Like 
his predecessors in the pastorate of this church, he 
had also for years taught a classical school or had at 
least received young men Into his house to fit them 
for the ministry. Thus he was thoroughly prepared 
In all respects for his duties as President of a 
College. 

The first term of the College of New Jersey be- 
gan in Ellzabethtown In May, 1747, at Mr. Dickin- 



35 

son's house on the South side of the old Rahway 
road and directly West of Race street. Tradition 
says that the College was subsequently transferred 
to the building that occupied the site of the present 
Lecture-room of this First Presbyterian Church. 
The pupils who had been under the previous instruc- 
tion of President Dickinson formed the nucleus, for 
within one year from the opening of the College 
there were six students prepared to receive their 
first degree in the arts. President Dickinson was 
probably assisted by Mr. Caleb Smith who had been 
teaching here and studying theolog}^ under him. 
Mr. Smith was licensed to preach in April, 1747, just 
at the time Mr. Dickinson was chosen President. 
He was an excellent scholar and became pastor of 
Newark Mountains, now Orange, in 1748. 

President Dickinson had only the honor of lay- 
ing the foundations of the College, for he was cut 
off by pleurisy, Oct. 7, 1747, after an administration 
of only five months. The students, said to have 
been twenty in number, removed to Newark and 
were placed under the instruction of the Rev. Aaron 
Burr. The first class, consisting of Enos Ayres, 
Benjamin Chestnut, Hugh Henry, Israel Reed, 
Richard Stockton and Daniel Thane, was ready for 
graduation in May, 1748 ; but at the request of Gov. 
Belcher and the gentlemen associated with him who 
desired to have the honor of sending forth the first 
class, their graduation was repeatedly postponed 
until the new and more liberal charter was granted. 
Mr. Burr was elected President ; he was inaugurated 



2>6 

and the first commencement was held at Newark, 
Nov. 9, 1748. All the members of the first class 
save one became ministers of the Gospel, and Rich- 
ard Stockton was a signer of the Declaration of In- 
dependence, while Enos Ayres was also distinguished 
in civil life. The subsequent history of the College 
and its fmal removal to Princeton do not belong to 
this discourse. 

President Dickinson was noted for the warmth of 
his piety and the strength of his devotional feelings. 
With an unblemished character, after a life of con- 
sistency and purity, he passed away just as he had 
reached the acme of his career, when the promise of 
years of usefulness seemed before him. With 
assured confidence he remarked, " Many days have 
passed between God and my soul, in which I have 
solemnly dedicated myself to Him, and I trust what 
I have committed to Him He is able to keep until 
that day," and then passed away. Buried among 
his flock, his monument is with you unto this day. 
"He was," as Dr. Hatfield, in his excellent History, 
remarks, "by common consent, the greatest man 
whose name adorns the Annals of the town." 

Over the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren in St. 
Paul's Cathedral in London is this inscription : 
" Si Monumentum requiris, circumspice." 
So with Jonathan Dickinson ; his monument is not 
simply the stone above his remains in the adjoining 
cemetery. Look around you in this church, in 
this town, in the college over which he presided and 
which has now been transferred to another place. 



11 

The Rev. Caleb Smith married his daughter Martha, 
the youngest of his nine children by his first wife, 
Joanna Melyen. One of his descendants through 
this daughter, Mr. John C. Green, whom God blessed 
with abundant wealth, reared to this eminent man 
Dickinson Hall at Princeton which commemorates 
the name of his ei'eai ancestor and illustrates his 
own enlightened Christian liberality. In this de- 
scendant of Jonathan Dickinson, Nassau Hall has 
found her greatest benefactor, whose gifts will spread 
blessings through countless years. Wherever the 
influence of Princeton extends, whether at the bar 
where right is protected, or on the bench where jus- 
tice is dispensed ; in the Senate where laws are en- 
acted of on the field of battle where liberty is 
defended ; or in the church where the gospel is 
proclaimed with truth and pow-er there wdll the 
name of its first President be honored. To Dickin- 
son be honor ; to his descendant do w^e owe thanks ; 
but to God be the glory for the noble work which 
Nassau Hall has accomplished : and may she con- 
tinue in the discharge of the duty to w^hich God has 
called her until He shall come whose rieht it is to 
reign ! 



I 



